Pen Underwriting has partnered with California-based cybersecurity firm Paladin Cyber to launch a suite of cyber risk management tools aimed at protecting brokers and their clients from cybercrime by reducing the risk of data loss, extortion and exfiltration.
Phase one of the new UK strategic partnership commenced Wednesday and introduced Pen brokers to a new scanning solution from Paladin Cyber as a value-added benefit for clients and prospects.
This tool works by performing a real-time, non-intrusive scan of an organisation’s internet-facing network infrastructure using publicly available information derived from its web domain. It then generates a risk report that identifies potential threats to an organisation’s IT systems such as ransomware, email compromises, and other forms of unauthorised access. The report also provides actionable advice on how to improve information security protection.
The second phase of the partnership, Paladin Shield, is expected to roll out by January as an added-value benefit for brokers with Pen cyber policyholders. This technology offers enterprise-wide protection to businesses that complements other cybersecurity products that may already be in use. It utilises AI to detect suspicious emails in real-time, secure browsing activity, block dangerous downloads and automatically scan systems to identify vulnerabilities, along with using phishing simulations to create targeted employee training. The service also includes on-call support provided by Paladin’s cybersecurity specialists.
“Our role at Pen is to help our brokers win and retain business, just as much as it is to devise effective solutions for their customers to mitigate and manage their risks,” said Hamir Patel, head of cyber at Pen Underwriting. “That’s why we want to incorporate Paladin Cyber’s expertise and tools in a way that empowers our brokers, rather than simply factoring the results of vulnerability scans into our underwriting decisions.”
According to Patel, the take-up of cyber cover has remained low compared to other business insurance coverages. As such, Pen’s latest partnership is aimed at providing brokers with the tools to approach clients about “real-life vulnerabilities” and provide them with practical steps to improve their information security and defences.
“Cyberattacks are painful, prolonged and expensive to deal with, so the best thing we can do is to help clients minimise their chance of suffering any unauthorised access to their IT networks, systems paralysis or cyber extortion, or at least minimising its impact,” said Patel. “In turn, this will also help ensure cyber cover for businesses can remain affordable, available and sustainable as exposures continue to increase and evolve.”
“We’re delighted to be working with Pen and its brokers to help their clients strengthen their resilience to increasingly common types of cyberattack, such as ransomware and phishing,” said Xing Xin, CEO of Paladin Cyber. “Such attacks are now a matter of when, not if. Misconfigured systems and phishing account for over 90% of business cyber losses. A little bit of time combined with the right solution delivers a major reduction to cyber risk. Paladin Shield helps companies tackle these easily preventable cyber threats without needing to hire additional IT or security headcount, and our customers experience substantially fewer cyber incidents and losses as a result.”
